


Just Joey

by KyeAbove



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Joey Is A Self Aware Game Character, M/M, The Toons Are Human Kids, Wally and Boris Are Adoptive Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-19 00:30:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13693101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove
Summary: Joey’s only a character on a computer screen, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a pain in the ass to anyone that isn’t Henry Stein





	1. Chapter 1

It had started out so innocently, they'd say down the road. Henry briefly mentioned a new game he was playing while on one of his ‘dates’ with Grant. Something like ‘Fear The Machine’, and all Grant could have told you later was that it must have been a horror game, from the few details Henry had given of it.

Bendy would affirm this, because when he stopped by Henry’s house one day, Henry had the game paused on a horrific grinning face. It hadn't scared Bendy, until he looked at it too long, as Henry searched for the board game he’d wanted to show Ben. Bendy claimed even with the pause caption still on the screen, the smile suddenly turned into a frown, and that the frown was worse then the smile.

Only Boris believed him. Alice scoffed, Barely grumbled, Charley called Ben an idiot, and Edgar started crying. Boris quickly changed his opinion when he saw he was the only one who thought Bendy wasn’t making things up to try and scare them. Some friend he was. Bendy stuck to his story.

As time went on, they didn’t hear much about Henry’s game. Only that he’d be hunched over, laptop balanced on his knees, and what used to be mild surprise over the events of the game, shifted into fondness. They almost thought he'd changed games, but he denied that each time it was brought up.

It was a dark day when someone properly met Joey.

Wally couldn’t say how Henry did it. Wally later looked up the game, seen if this was a feature or a common mod, but found nothing. All it said online was that the game was about trying to defeat an ink creature who had trapped you in an old animation studio, and the mods for it were unlike what Wally saw that day he caught a look of Henry's laptop.

The background was like the game, even the furniture, but the smiling character sitting at the desk was unlike anything in the game. Human.

“Oh, are you back to playing dating sims?” Wally had asked, untainted for the time being.

“That’s just Joey.” Henry had called back from the kitchen. Henry was baking a cake for Linda’s upcoming birthday. Allison couldn’t bake, so he wanted to help the both of them with the gesture. Wally was there to taste test everything.

Joey just seemed like a looped animation, sitting at his desk, smiling, staring directly at the screen. Occasionally he would blink, his too perfect green eyes kind and happy.

But Joey hadn’t stayed that way. As soon as Wally sat down in front of the laptop, the animation had suddenly froze, and the music started replaying the same note. Before Wally could call Henry over to check on his laptop, there was a scratching sound and suddenly Joey wasn’t so happy and charming.

Joey looked deranged, his smile wide, and his eyes wider.

Then a textbox had appeared at the bottom of the screen.

**Did You Forget Your Keys?**

“What the fuck.”

Without Wally even touching the computer, that text box disappeared and a new one appeared.

**I Know Who You Are.**

“Ummm…Henry, your game is freaking out.” Wally was a little more than panicked, especially after the first text box reappeared, with an accompanying ‘ **Yes/No** ’ selection.

“Just humor him.” Was Henry’s reply just before he turned on the blender.

Wally, hoping this was really just part of the game, and it was just a coincidence that yes, he actually had forgotten his keys and hadn’t realised it until he was already almost at Henry’s house. Wally figured Sammy would still be at home when it was time for Wally to leave, and if not he’d probably have to stay the night at Henry’s.

So, hesitantly, Wally selected ‘ **Yes** ’.

The music stopped repeating and Joey stopped looking as deranged. Still unsettling though.

**Will You Get Home Safe?**

‘ **Yes/No/Not Sure** ’

Wally selected ‘Not Sure’, all while thinking _there’s no fucking way this is really happening._

**I hope you do. I have decided that I like you.**

Joey’s animation switched to one of him grinning happily.

**Not as much as I like Henry, mind you. Do you like me?**

**‘Yes/No’**

Wally selected **‘Yes’** , because he didn’t want to think of what ‘glitch’ he might get if he selected **‘No’**

**I can tell you’re not sure. This is fine. You can make you own decisions.**

“Henry. I have questions.”

Henry laughed, knowingly, and that was the scary part.

“Ask _him_.”

Either this was a wicked game, or Henry had found a pretty decent mod, because at Henry’s words, the text box **What do you want to know?** appeared on the screen.

“Um…” It was voice integrated, wasn’t it? “How did you meet Henry?” Wally immediately cringed. That was a bad question. Why did he ask it? He’d forgotten temporarily that Joey wasn’t real. That’s how creepily real seeming he was.

**He played my game. I was meant to kill him or I was to be destroyed. But instead we fell in love.**

“Is it not working out with Grant? Joey says you and him are in love. I didn’t realize you were playing a dating sim and not a straight up horror game.” Wally heard Henry stop whisking the batter, and then Henry stepped out of the kitchen.

“Grant and I haven’t properly dated _ever._ He’s aro ace. I thought you knew. We just go on dates because we like each others company and the outings are fun.” Henry smiled. “Joey’s who I really love.”

The music playing from the speakers picked up, and then switched to a sweeter tune.

Henry leaned over the computer, grinning as Joey’s animation blushed and grinned back.

**I love you too!**

Henry and Joey gushed over each other, getting sickenly sweet, while Wally, victim to it all, could only watch dumbly, wondering what in the world they were getting into.

It would only get worse from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's pretty clear what I'm referencing here. If not, carry on with your day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was rather shocked at the response to this story. Thank you everyone for your kudos, comments, or just bothering to read this story. 
> 
> We gotta get through Joey’s tragic backstory before we can get to the true chaos. Bear with me.

 

There were no human characters in _Feed_ The Machine, as it was actually called. The player character was a nameless vampire slowly starving to death around creatures made of ink, and the other characters were those ink creatures.

And none of the characters even had a name that resembled Joey.

None of the fansites Wally browsed through reported any of this Joey nonsense. So where had he come from? Henry only downloaded mods; did not create them to make elebrolate romance with a hot brunette. Henry would sooner switch back to playing dating sims regularly then go through the effort.

So there was no way Henry was still playing Feed The Machine. Absolutely no fucking way, no matter that the background matched the utter wood set up.

“I think you're being messed with.” Sammy tried to reason, stirring his coffee while casting a worried glance at Wally. Wally was always obsessed with gossip and conspiracies. Usually, it ended well for no one.

“No. Henry has used up his allowed pranks for the year. Unless Bendy is in on this. So I'm not being fooled. How the fuck does Joey work?!”

“I don't see how a computer character pointing out that you forgot your keys is such a big deal to you. You’ve lost your keys so much I’ve changed the locks three times this year.” Sammy wasn’t going to risk such an easy break in, that’s for sure. “I'm pretty sure everyone and their dog knows you have a hard time keeping your keys on hand.”

When Wally shook his head, and went back to his computer, determined, Sammy groaned, and slammed his head on the table, narrowly missing his coffee. _If you're not going to settle down, try adoption!_ Sammy’s madre’s voice mocked in his head. Sammy loved Wally, but often he felt like Wally would have been better off with someone else, because sometimes Sammy had a hard time dealing with Wally’s antics.

Every time he got frustrated with Wally, he had to put his head down and remind himself why it’d been Wally he fought for. Plus, the finalized adoption wasn't even a year past. Sammy had time to work things out.

He was simultaneously proud that Wally had grown from the timid and shy boy pretending to be a girl that Sammy first met to someone willing to pressure interests, however odd they might be. Sammy was conflicted and unconfident.

Boris, popsicle in hand, walked into the room, saw the scene, and promptly noped out of there. There were less distressing things in another room. Any other room.

“I got it!” Wally closed his computer, while Sammy raised his head to study this. “It’s a spin-off game that the devs only sent to a select few to test. That’s gotta be it!” Before Sammy could get a word in, Wally was outta there, the front door slamming shut seconds later.

Boris peeked back into the room.

“Gosh, he sure must like this Joey guy.” Boris said, rather innocently.

“According to him, Joey is a living computer character, or serious programing meant to mimic such a thing. _What’s not to like?”_

* * *

**What does chocolate cake taste like?  
**   
“Depends on the cake. Most chocolate cake, not so great. _Sammy’s_ chocolate cake? Heaven. There only reason he’s not helping me is because he claims to hate Allison’s guts.”

**But it’s _Linda’s_ birthday. Does he hate Linda as well?**

“No. But I’ve stopped trying to understand Sammy’s logic. In anything.” Henry’s eyes tore away from the screen when he heard a knock on his front door. Loud and eager. “One moment, Joey.”

The music became forlorn, and then oddly catchy. Henry had become attuned to the changing music, and knew Joey was first disappointed, and then accepting.

It was Wally at the door, looking all of his twelve years as he jump around, excited.

“So I figured it out! You got early access to some new game!” Wally looked so proud, and Henry hated that he’d have to dash those hopes.

“You could have just asked me or Joey when you were over.”

“But where’s the fun in that?!” Wally giggled, and had he lost another tooth? Henry realized Wally was looking for a response, shaking him from his stupor.  

“Sadly, you’re wrong. Sorry, Wally.”

Wally’s face crumbled.

“What? How..?”

“How about you come inside, and Joey and I can explain.”

Wally followed Henry into the house, shoulders slumped, and shock and disbelief all over his face. When Wally sat down in the bean bag chair he’d claimed the first day Henry had met him, the music playing from the computer turned to something more scratchy.

**What’s upsetting him?**

Joey’s animation was now one of interest, but not so much actual concern.

“I think we need to fully open up to him how we met.” Henry replied, taking the computer off the table and going to sit beside Wally.

“You’re lying.” Wally said immediately. “That’s what you’re doing. Trying to trick me. That’s not fair.”

“I’m really not. Why would I lie about something like this. Kinda far fetched, right?”

“Sure, I guess.” Wally grumbled. “So if it’s not a spin-off or whatever, what the hell is going on? He’s not really aware, is he?” Wally looked to the screen for some kind of confirmation.

Joey’s animation switched to one of him frowning, and Henry's heart dropped. Joey true frown was almost always a bad sign. It was how Henry had first realized something was going differently for him then any other player of the game.

**I am as aware as you or Henry. I may not experience life as you do, but I am alive. Immortalized by Henry’s love for me.**

Joey half-smiled, his music a weird shift between happy and sad.

**It’s all I know. It’s all I** **_will_ ** **know. I don’t want to go back to before, and nothing will make me, Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.** **_Nothing._ **

“Sorry. I believe you now. It’s just so…odd. I’ve never heard of this really happening. Not even among the other players of the game. I did my research.” So, maybe it was a half hour at most. Wally had only been looking for signs of Joey, and the gist of the game. “They’re no way you’re from Feed the Machine. So what is the name of your actual game?”

**Feed The Machine is my game. Why, look at the icon! It’s still the same. I just played around with my world, because I wasn't satisfied with what I was feeling.**

Henry decided it was his time to butt in.

“Neither of us know why he’s different from every other version of him in everyone else’s games. Some fluke? All we know is that when he loaded, he was only following his code out of obligation over actually wanting to do it.” Henry paused, and then ruffled Wally’s hair. “We didn’t mean to confuse you or make you feel dumb. It’s just...well, your version is more reasonable. I would have believed it myself if I was in someone else’s shoes.”

“Really?” Wally’s smile returned.

**Even** **_I_ ** **wouldn’t have believed it, and I’m the character in question.**

“It’s so unlikely! The super smart people don’t even have AI perfected, and you just...exist! It’s actually pretty cool.” Wally admitted, “But that doesn’t explain how you look like you do when no character like you exists in the game.”

**That’s where you’re wrong.**

“Huh?”

**Henry, could you explain?**

Henry nodded, looked excited and lovestruck at just the idea of talking about how he’d found love.

“So, the game itself was pretty average. Sure the atmosphere was interesting and so was the desperation to not starve, but it didn’t really have much of a plot.” To be fair, he’d only downloaded it as a time killer, but from the concept, he’d felt there should have been more. “I started coming up with my own things to fill the blanks. Naming things that were more generic, coming up with a backstory that could have plausibly explained anything. Tired of the generic ‘Ink Demon’, I started calling him Joey. First name that came to mind.”

Wally’s jaw dropped.

“Joey is supposed to be _that_?” Wally, thinking about the dripping demon in much of the promotional art, couldn’t believe there was any connection.

**Yes**

To prove his point, Joey shifted into a more stylized version of his former appearance, lacking his twisted leg and mismatched hands. His ink was also a little more cleaned up, and was not as scary looking, but he clearly resembled the frightening angry mass of ink that acted as the main antagonist.

“That’s wicked. But how do you _not_ look like that anymore?”

Henry continued the explanation, as Joey shifted back to his human appearance.

“After we became aware of each other, and bonded, I asked if he felt pain. With his leg and all. Turns out he couldn’t even _see_ me. The pain from his leg never bothered him because his true pain was having no eyes to see me with.” Henry mumbled the last bit. “He just knew I was there. Knew I was different from the protagonist. I was so lost thinking about how alone he must be in the dark, and felt the need to help him. With a little work and a lot of research, I broke his game. He took a dive through the code of all those dating sims I still have on my computer, and took a peek at my art folder, and reinvented everything about his world, and himself. For his happiness and mine.”

**The first thing I ever saw was Henry, and** **_that…_ ** **well** **_that,_ ** **my dear Wally, is the greatest feeling I know of your world.**


End file.
